Stepping Back at Work Can Be the Ultimate Power Move
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s latest announcement shows that it always takes strength to quit a job that others see as a path to success
You probably don’t work for your wealthy grandmother. Your wedding probably wasn’t an internationally televised event. Your face will probably never appear on a commemorative tea towel.
But if there’s ever been a real “Royals! They’re just like us!” moment, it was yesterday’s announcement that Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are stepping back from their roles as “senior members” of the British royal family. Yes, it’s a move that involves an eye-popping amount of institutional privilege, but bear with me: To prioritize their happiness and the well-being of their family, Harry and Meghan said no to the accepted wisdom about how to get ahead at work. Even to those of us with less lofty titles, it’s a decision that reflects a deeply relatable conundrum — who hasn’t, at one point or another, questioned whether the institution they work for was working for them?
The word “shocking” has been thrown around quite a bit since the news broke. And it certainly it may seem odd that two people with access to such unusual levels of power and wealth have declared that they…
